Indeed, the building materials company supplied not only their project but others as well. If there was an issue, other projects would suffer.
Every moment they delayed, more goods were produced and shipped out.
They had to stop it immediately.
The group went to the building materials company.
Due to the suddenness of the event and the lack of any prior warning, Chen Jiaojiao caught them red-handed fabricating evidence.
She was furious.
She berated the on-site management and then told them:
"Stop the production line immediately, and halt all shipments. You are incredibly audacious, don't you know the consequences of this?"
"If something goes wrong, who will bear the responsibility?"
The staff wanted to retort: "The boss arranged it this way. We're just employees, we have no right to speak up."
But to keep their jobs, no one argued with her.
Only Zhan Beijue did.
He impartially reminded her.
Not only did they need to shut down the company, but they also had to recall the materials already sold.
Call off all construction projects using their materials, otherwise, if anything else happened, your father would still be held responsible.
At this point, Zhan Beijue had lost all trust in the projects managed by Chen Jiaojiao.
He then ordered a thorough investigation into the qualifications of all other materials, down to a single screw, requesting experts to check for compliance.
"Arrange for someone to handle this immediately. A Zhong, you are responsible for supervising them."
Chen Jiaojiao dared not disobey and immediately called her assistant, asking him to handle these matters.
A Zhong accompanied Chen Jiaojiao's assistant to get busy.
Suddenly, only Zhan Beijue, Lu Mingzhe, and Chen Jiaojiao remained.
Just as they were about to head to the company.
Chen's father, likely having received a call from his subordinates about the work stoppage, rushed over and blocked their path.
After some pleasantries,
He shamelessly tried to curry favor with Zhan Beijue.
"The client urgently needs this batch of goods, and it must be shipped today. I cannot delay their delivery schedule."
"Mr. Zhan, do me a favor. Let me ship this batch first, and we can discuss everything else afterward."
Even at this critical juncture, he hadn't grasped the severity of the situation.
He actually believed that a simple favor would resolve it.
Zhan Beijue was speechless.
"Are we that close? This is a matter of life and death. Why should I risk my future for your favor?"
Chen's father froze for a moment, his eyes darting around.
Then he uttered words that made everyone's jaws drop.
"Aren't you good brothers with Ah Zhe? We'll be family the day after tomorrow. If you won't do it for me, do it for him."
"?"
"Our two families have already agreed to set the wedding date for the day after tomorrow. They are getting married soon. You see, we'll be family immediately, won't we?"
Chen Jiaojiao was so shocked by the news that she almost jumped.
For the first time in her life, she loathed her father.
"At a time like this, you're still thinking about forcing me to get married?!"
"The construction site is in a state of emergency. If this gets out, do you know you could go to jail?"
"You're still in the mood to arrange a wedding at this point, you... take back your words immediately! If you want to marry, marry, but I'm not marrying!"
Oh dear, silly girl.
Lu Mingzhe was right here, how could she say such things in front of him?
Fearing he might offend Lu Mingzhe, Chen's father smiled at Zhan Beijue and Lu Mingzhe.
"This girl is stubborn, it's all my fault, I spoiled her since she was little. My apologies, excuse us for a moment. Let me discipline her."
He dragged the furious Chen Jiaojiao to a secluded corner.
And began to scold her in a low voice.
"Don't talk about not getting married anymore! At this point, both families have sent out invitations, and the hotels are booked. If you don't get married, how will we save face?"
"Moreover, this is the best time to leverage our relationships."
"You are about to marry into their family, and they will have to help our family."
"Dad knows we've encountered a major problem, a super big problem. But if we can get closer to the Lu and Zhan families, won't it be easier to solve this?"
"Don't you want to solve the problem? Do you want to see me in trouble, and see your father die?"
"I've worked hard my whole life. Although I've done some things wrong, have you benefited from me telling you the truth?"
"Everything you've eaten, drunk, used, worn, the schools you attended, where did it all come from if not from this?"
"And your mother, your brother, without me, could they be living so lavishly abroad?"
"Forget it, I won't talk to you about this anymore. Think about it yourself."
"If you want to see me unable to face everyone, want to see me lose face completely, then continue to be willful."
He was truly skilled at emotional blackmail.
He had messed up a perfectly good situation, and in the end, it was all blamed on his daughter.
It was all her fault for not cooperating, which led to his complete downfall?!
Chen Jiaojiao didn't know what to say.
She suddenly felt so powerless.
Her work was a mess, and in her personal life, she felt like a duck being forced onto a perch.
Why was it suddenly so difficult?
Knowing she couldn't get through to her father.
The key to resolving the current situation now lay with Lu Mingzhe.
After sending her father away, she found Lu Mingzhe and wanted to speak to him privately.
But Lu Mingzhe had already anticipated what she would do.
His attitude towards her was very cold.
"If you've come to ask me to cancel the wedding with you, I'm sorry, I can't do that."
Chen Jiaojiao was confused.
"Why can't you do it? You clearly don't like me, and you know I don't mean anything either. What's the point of getting married like this?"
"It's clearly something you can decide with a word, why insist you can't do it?"
"Do you really want me to tell the truth? Fine then. Because I don't want to do it."
Lu Mingzhe said.
"You already knew this outcome, there's no need to pretend to be a victim now."
"When you went against me back then, I already warned you."
Chen Jiaojiao was filled with regret.
She had indeed been spoiled by her father since childhood.
Arrogant, overbearing, and willful.
She thought everyone would indulge her like her father did.
But she encountered someone even more spoiled, and she was no match for him.
She genuinely regretted ending up in this situation.
Realizing her own insignificance, tears began to fall.
"I'm sorry, I was wrong. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have challenged you, nor should I have repaid kindness with enmity."
"I truly know I was wrong now. Please, don't gamble with your own lifelong happiness. Spare me."
Lu Mingzhe sneered.
"So, you've decided to break up with Hu Jiasheng? And you promise never to be with him again for the rest of your life?"
Chen Jiaojiao trembled, feeling both indignant and helpless.
"Why does it have to be like this?"
Lu Mingzhe disliked seeing her like this and frowned.
"This is the last explanation I'll give you. Because I'm petty and cannot accept betrayal."
"You betrayed me, and now you think a simple apology can make up for the loss? Impossible."
"Unless we both lose together. I accept your betrayal. You promise me you will never be with him again. Otherwise, there's nothing more to say."
Chen Jiaojiao couldn't promise.